Devices for the separation of fluids, or segregation devices for the segregation of fluids, are of known art. For example the registered design DE 90 040 19.8 describes a device for sucking out a light fluid that has been separated in a fluid separator. The said device has a housing in which a container is arranged in turn. In the container is located a bag, which is filled with an oil binding agent. The oil-binding agent is a buoyant granulate based on a polyurethane foam. The wastewater contaminated with a light fluid enters into the housing through the entry opening. As long as the oil-binding agent in the container is substantially unsaturated, the container is only slightly immersed into the layer of light fluid. The light fluid permeates into the container, and the bag containing the oil-binding agent, and is adsorbed by the oil-binding agent. With increasing saturation of the oil-binding agent the weight of the bag increases such that the container sinks ever further. When the container has reached its lowest position the oil-binding agent is substantially saturated with the light substance and the bag can be replaced. The fluid that is not absorbed exits through an outlet opening. Basically the principle of the said device is sensible, but the device itself is very complex and susceptible to faults. For example there is no guarantee that the total volumetric flow of the fluid mixture actually flows through the bag. In this respect complete filtering is not necessarily ensured.
Building on the said device, DE 600 04 523 D2 also describes a segregation device and a segregation method for the segregation of fluids with different densities. Fundamentally the device described in the above document functions in accordance with the same principle, namely that an adsorbent material is saturated with one of the two fluids and as a result sinks down into the other fluid. However, an essential difference consists in the fact that in the said device the total volumetric flow must pass through the segregating component, which consists of an adsorbing material. The segregating component is arranged within a container such that it completely fills the cross-section of the container. What is disadvantageous in the said device, however, is the friction between the segregating component and the container. With increasing adsorption, i.e. contamination, of the segregating component the frictional characteristics alter as a result of fluctuations in temperature and pressure, which in turn affects the filtering process and the necessary energy expenditure. As a result the device is susceptible to faults and this can lead to increased maintenance activity.
The separation devices, i.e. oil/water separators, have moreover the disadvantage that the discharge times before a changeover of the absorbing material are very long, and the absorbing material, i.e. the filter that has the said material, has a considerable weight in the case of the larger devices.